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Times -Advocate, November 13, 1996
Letters to the etci.tor
An open letter to MPP Helen Johns
"The whole thrust of the changes
seems to be financial cuts, not a
better educated student."
Dear Editor:
Letter to Helen Johns
I came downstairs this morning to find a letter at-
tached to the fridge door. It was written by my son
and addressed "To the Editor". Our family attended
a meeting on November 6 at the library on South
Huron High School. The subject of the meeting was
changes to the education system in Ontario, and was
hosted by the faculty.
When I say changes to the education system, I
feel somewhat detached from the subject, because
this is a provincial matter. It is something for pro-
fessionals to handle who are more qualified to deal
with it than myself. That is why I put them in office.
However after last night's meeting I am question-
ing that my blind trust has been misplaced. I do not
enjoy making mistakes, because there are conse-
quences to mistakes. My initial uneasiness comes
not from the changes, but from reasoning process.
As an example, guidance counsellors will be done
away with. Instead the school population will be di-
vided evenly among the faculty of teachers. Each
teacher will be a mentor to their allotted portion of
students. No reason was given. It was not stated that
guidance counsellors are obsolete or anything of
that nature. Also it was not explained how the teach-
ers would have time for both training and to carry
out this new task. The principal stated himself that
he would not feel qualified to carry out this new
task.
Another change coming is that the traditional five
year high school to obtain 30 credits will be
changed to four years to obtain 37 credits. This can
be misleading, as it is possible to accomplish with
shorter class periods and more of them. The dis-
tressing part of this is that it is to be implemented in
1998 so that the curriculum for grade seven students
is to be changed this year. No changes came
through from Toronto. When teachers and the Hu -
flan County board office ask Toronto for direction,
they get the response "We are not sure, or we don't
know yet". Goals, financial goals have been set by
Toronto, ways and means have not been established.
Overspending through the years has put us in seri-
ous trouble, however ill planned solutions will
create new problems. The present government may
or may not be around to be accountable for the re-
sults, but John Q. Public will be. Then someone in
Toronto will have a new solution to a new problem.
I have been involved over the years with the Par-
ent Advisory committee. Unfortunately the last year
I have not been able to stay involved as I would like
to. The concept behind the advisory councils was to
give input and direction to the school system from
all aspects. Unfortunately last night I was led to be-
lieve that Toronto has their plans cut and dried and
that is that. I heard one opinion last night, would like
to hear the other opinion before a deadline of No-
vember 30 that has been laid down by Toronto.
The whole thrust of the changes seems to be finan-
cial cuts, not a better educated student. It was stated
last night that the Huron County Public School
Board has one of the lowest cost per student ratios in
the province. This is coupled with an above average
educated student. Huron County appears to be doing
something right. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Fix
the Boards of Education and the administration in
Toronto that have caused the problems. We are go-
ing to suffer and pay for their mismanagement.
It has become a global market and every aspect of
our life is changing because of that. Cheaper labour
abroad makes it harder for our traditional industries
with higher paid labour to compete. However our
foreign competitors are asking for our educational
and training assistance. Canada is an advanced na-
tion, but are we going to be able to maintain that. I
am one of the "baby boomers", and will hope to re-
tire in the next 15 to 20 years, will our children be
able to lead the world in our technological know
how? With everything that I heard at the meeting,
none of it stated that it would lead to a better educat-
ed student.
All I have succeeded in doing is raising additional
questions. Do you have the answers Ms. Johns?
Regards,
Bill Bengough
Changes to education
"... if everyone who reads this
calls, writes, or visits Helen
Johns, we will make a difference."
Dear Editor:
On the night of November 6 at South Huron Dis-
trict High School, I attended a meeting to discuss
the dramatic changes that our provincial govern-
ment plans to make to Ontario's education system.
This meeting was organized by school staff, board
of education trustees, and others. No representative
of our provincial government had anything to do
with this meeting; other people had to devote what
spare time they had to research, organize, and speak
to us.
The speakers shared information about this very
important issue. Unfortunately, that information
wasn't enough. Too many questions were answered
with "We're not sure" or "We don't know." Why
,couldn't they answer enough valid questions con-
cerning such an important issue? It is no fault of
their own. In addition to all of the unpaid and often
unappreciated hours that these individuals regularly
devote, they are spending a great deal of time and
effort trying to answer our and their questions.
When they can't find an answer they are desperately
trying to prepare for an uncertain future with a fast
approaching deadline. The reason they don't have
answers is because the government isn't giving
them many.
The provincial government is making dramatic
changes that will redesign the secondary school sys-
tem and affect the elementary school system. Some
of these changes seem very good, some of them
seem quite bad, but the overall picture gives me a
sick feeling in my stomach.
A major change with the system is that secondary
schoolstudents will be working through more mate-
rial in a shorter period of time. Grade seven and
eight students will also have their curriculum
changed so they may also learn more, faster to pre-
pare for high school. This may or may not be a good
idea. What is definitely a bad idea is that high
schools will be changed in 1998 but no considera-
tion is yet being made to the elementary school stu-
dents. What this means is that if you have a child
currently in grade seven or eight, they will enter
high school having skipped two years of the plan.
your child may be getting A's right now but at the
same time they are falling behind in their lessons
(that should be there). This is only one example of
the many problems in the 'plan.'.
I've seen the facts and figures that the govern-
ment presents to justify their project and I've seen
how these statistics were carefully designed. Fig-
ures lie and liars figure. By not equating the whole
truth they avoid lying outright, but the effect is the
same.
While it appears that most of their decisions have
not been set in stone, as they have produced litera-
ture that includes questionnaires that "encourage
you to provide (them) with comments and sugges-
tions," the deadlines for these responses have been
as little as a couple weeks. This is an unrealistic pe-
riod of time to acquire, review, and respond to their
information packages; assuming that the opinions of
the public will even be considered. What are the
chances that these "response forms" have only been
printed to lead us to believe that they will actually
consider what we have to say?
Although there were many questions that could
not be answered at the meeting, the speakers were
careful not to voice their opinions because they are
obviously biased. Not for their paycheques because
most of them will be unaffected in this respect. They
are biased because they care a great deal about our
students and they want the best for them. They fear
that our students are going to be hurt in many ways
by these new reforms.
Our government does not care. Men, women and
children are much more than merely numbers and
statistics. Mike Harris and John Snobelen should be
looking outside the walls of their political and cor-
porate offices and attempting to understand the lives
of common citizens. They refuse to look past the
dollars that are to be saved and see the people that
are dramatically affected by their decisions. Besides
the financial aspect, it is obvious that very little
thought has been put into these reforms. The govern-
ment does not care about the students or the taxpay-
ers. Purely token gestures to inform us (even then
manipulated with skewed statistics), a laughable sys-
tem to receive our opinions (which they may or may
not consider), and an obvious lack of respect and
concern about the people that they affect (which in-
cludes all of us, directly or indirectly) is hardly the
best way to serve us.
Our provincial government does not care and
something must be done. We must show them that
we do care. One phone call, or one letter, or even
one visit to Helen John's office will not make a dif-
ference. But if everyone who reads this calls, writes,
or visits Helen Johns, we will make a difference.
The time has come to stop taking the abuse that our
elected government ruthlessly inflicts upon us. Eve-
ryone of us must devote just a small amount of time
so that united we may loudly declare: "This is our
land, this is our system, and these are our lives.We
demand that our elected government understand and
respect these facts, understand and respect us, and
serve us accordingly, as it is their duty to do so."
Sincerely,
Daniel Bengough
Students clean up
"We...do have a concern about
our environment and hope others
do as well."
Dear Editor:
On the 24th of October, Adult Education and En-
vironmental Science classes picked up litter from
South Huron District High, Exeter Public School,
the Ree Centre and Ball Parks, MacNaughton and
Elliot Parks and Victoria Park, It was a successful
day despite the weather,
In all we picked up well over 12 green garbage
bags full of garbage as well as three boxes of recy-
clable:. Por such a small area, this was quite a lot of
litter,
We, Adult Students Against Pollution (A.S.A.P.)
do have a concern about our environment and hope
others do as well. If you happen to see some gar-
bage laying on the street or on the grass, do not be
afraid to pick it up and place it in a garbage contain-
er.
A.S.A.P. would like to thank the following for
their support: Darlings Foodland for coffee, Donut
Delite for the little Delites for energy, Jenny Rowe
for the coffee urn, cream and sugar, Exeter Public
School and South Huron District High and the
Town of Exeter for garbage bags and last but not
least, Lynn Farquhar and the Roc Staff for letting us
set up our Headquarters there,
A.S.A.P. Adult Ed.,
South Huron District High School
.• . ...(.95..a,i•oieri ..**A; .... -,.. 4.:
Nurses ready to fight for hospital
4 Hospital closures are inevitable.'
How far away do Exeter and area
residents want to be from a life-
saving facility?
Dear Editor:
In resposne to your excellent editorial of October
30, 1996, we are in agreement that we can lose our
hospital and everyone is apathetic and ill-informed.
Exeter and area residents are aware that every hos-
pital in Huron -Perth is involved in the District
Health Councils Restructuring Plan. What the pub-
lic does not realize is the impact this restructuring
may have on them personally.
The. target for the Ministry of Health is an 18 per
cent reduction in hospital funding province -wide.
Hospital closures are inevitable. How far away do
Exeter and area residents want to be from a life-
saving facility? Many families have a family mem-
ber alive today due to the proximity of our hospital
.Whether it be near -drownings, motor vehicle acci-
dents, burns, severe allergic reactions, seizures,
heart attacks, emergency deliveries, the list goes on.
Also many families have been touched by the com-
passionate palliative care received here. It is time to
push the panic button, not wait until the decision is
made. January's decision will be irreversible. Local
resident's need to be pro -active not re -active.
The RN's of South Huron Hospital are ready to
step forward to fight for our hospital and quality pa-
tient care. The nurses see the preservation of our
hospital as a battle for the very heartbeat of our
town and surrounding area. Local industry,. tourism,.
farmers, retirement communities and group homes
rely heavily on our facility. Concerned citizens need
to be prepared for the worst and need to become ac- .
tive to prevent the closure of our local hospital. The
initiatives shown by other communities such as St.
Marys, Wingham, Stratford, Clinton, Goderich need
to be duplicated in Exeter.
Thank you once again for your. accurate editorial.
We have a first rate facility in our midst providing
quality care - let's not lose it!!
Suggestions:
Write to the District Health Council, 235 St.
George Street, Mitchell, Ontario NOK 1 NO
Attend Public Forums - December 11 - South Hu-
ron Recreation Centre, Exeter - 4 p.m. - 9 p.m.
• bring your questions.
Ask Questions:
• Ask what your doctor is doing
• Lobby hospital board members and your local
MPP
• Write to the Times Advocate stressing how
much our hospital is needed.
The Registered Nurses of South Huron Hospital
challenge Exeter and area churches, service clubs,
support groups and the public to join the fight to
save quality health care in this area.
Respectfully
Darlene Geoffrey
Public Relations Committee of Ontario Nurses
Association (ONA), Local 112
Questions need answers
"We believe public forums are ap-
propriate and beneficial..."
Dear Editor:
A letter to Janet Hook, chair
Hospital and Health Related Services Study Task
Force
Dear Mrs. Hook:
We missed you at our Information Session at the
St. Marys Area Arena and Community Centre
Wednesday evening. As a member of the public,
you were indeed invited to attend, motions to the
contrary notwithstanding.
It appears to this observer that you prefer to re-
spond with pat answers via the print media rather
than facing the residents of the St. Marys area and
responding to their questions. Your dismissal of
town hall meetings as not providing useful informa-
tion to the Task Force left Bert Johnson, our MLA,
to respond to questions i (' opriately ad-
dressed to you as chair of therassic Force. He ad-
vised us to participate in the process but you have
framed the process to avoid open, public consulta-
tion.
Instead of a generic response, I challenge you to
reply in the local print media to the following ques-
tions:
1) Given that the stated government policy calls
for 6 and 7 per cent funding cuts for hospitals in the
next two years, and given that small hospitals re-
ceived preferred treatment in the initial year of con-
straint, why has the Task Force adopted a planning
assumption of a minimum of 20 per cent reduction,
net of reinvestments which potentially translates
into a much higher cut?
2) Will the importance of a hospital to its commu-
nity be included as a prominent criterion in assess-
ing the options?
3) Why are the criteria to be used for assessing the
restructuring options defined differently in the pub-
lic tabloid and the hospital staff questionnaire?
4) Who designed the tabloid questionnaires? Were
they pretested? With whom?
5) What questions were used in the telephone sur-
vey?
6) Why was administration included along with
patient care services in assessing the services that
are the most important to have as close to home as
possible? Was there some ulterior motive?
7) How many letters have you received from our
area? Have you shared them with members of your
Task Force?
A copy of this letter is being sent for publication
to the media in Huron and Perth Counties. I invite
you to reply via the newspapers, (ordirectly to e hru;
granting permission to publish ours s on�`efs�.
m
We believe public forums are apjiropriaie and g
beneficial and would urge you and your colleagues
to reconsider your stated position that "it would be
wrong to send Task Force representatives to these
meetings, thereby indicating to the public that this
activity will influence the decision making process."
To the contrary, it could offer you an opportunity
to improve the credibility of the Task Force by open
dialogue for all to witness and assess rather than in-
put received and evaluated in private.
I look forward to your early reply.
Yours truly,
Rev. Dr. Rick Horst
Vice Chair, Board of Directors,
St. Marys Memorial Hospital
System works fine
"...teachers and school boards in
Ontario have a history of effective
negotiations..."
Dear Editor:
Leon Paroian's ideas for collective negotiations in
education will mean chaos in the system. With his
proposed regional bargaining structure, local com-
munities will lose control over the teaching and
learning conditions in their own schools. The Feder-
ation of Women Teachers' of Ontario, representing
41,000 women teachers in Ontario said "Nothing in
the report released will improve children's educa-
tion. This is not what parents want, what trustees
want or what teachers want."
Since last August, Leon Paroian has held hearings
on the collective bargaining system for teachers in
Ontario. It is obvious that Mr. Paroian did not go
into these hearings objectively, but with a specific
government -run agenda in mind. Tim government's
attempt at playing up Mr. Paroian's objectivity by
claiming that he did it all for only one dollar is a
joke. P -l -e -a -s -e! We all know that Leon Paroian -
who has legally kept Snobelen out of business trou-
ble for years and whose daughter is rumoured to be
Snobelen's god -child - has got to benefit in some
other way! Three years from now, when the govern-
ment is giving out its pre-election goodies, see if
Mr. Paroian doesn't get some cushy government ap-
pointment somehow.
Everywhere Mr. Paroian went, he heard that the
current system functions well - that teachers and
school boards in Ontario have a history of effective
negotiations and that very few disputes have result-
ed in disruption of the school year. Mr. Paroian's re-
leased report ran exactly counter to the evidence he
heard. He is recommending the wholesale disman-
ding of the existing system of collective bargaining
for teachers in Ontario. The Federation is asking
"Why would anyone want to destroy a system when
all the participants agree that the current system is
working well on the whole?' Mr. Paroian responded
by putting out his information In the worst possible
light in order to discredit the system. His citing of
17.1 million days of pupil instruction lost over
twenty years sounds scary but is really quite ridicu-
lous. Perhaps the blowhard lawyer should rant at the
irresponsibility of the powers above as well. The
loss of pupil instructional days due to snowstorms
over the province in the past 20 years would far ri-
val Mr. Paroian's figures! •
Elementary teachers in Huron have not ontie in 20
years been on strike. Even in a few tight situations,
last-minute bargaining has always circumvented
that. Nor have Huron elementary teachers ever
needed to use sanctions such as refusing to coach
teams, to offer extra help, to supervise lunch rooms,
or to operate bands or choirs in after-school hours.
No teacher wants to have to walk a picket line, and
altruistic members of teachers' federations take
great pains to avoid just such a situation. But every
teacher needs to know that the opportunity to exer- '
cise their democratic rights is not denied them.
Once again the government is attempting to throw'
confusion into the ranks of teachers. How? By turn-
ing
urning the teacher's federations into trade unions, by
lumping them under the Labour Relations Att, by
forcing them to conduct massive sign-ups and to enµ
ter into the annual union recertification process. It is
obvious that the government is afraid of the teach-
ers' federations. Why? Because they have communi-
ty liaisons and the ability to communicate to parents
the harm government policies are inflicting on the •
schools. The government is afraid that parents and
taxpayers will listen to the teachers' messages about
the true nature of the Mike Hams agenda. The gov-
ernment is worried that parents will believe that it
wants to take money out of education to fund its tax
cut, that taxpayers will understand how the govern-
ment can more easily extract money from a system
in chaos and from a sector where statistical compari-
sons between pre- and post -Tory actions cannot be
made because all structures have been altered in the
meantime.
The government's btstitt'ettempt to divide the
federations (in what should be called the "Paranoid"
report), is a smokescreen designed to shush the
truth. And far from causing divisiveness, the poli-
cies of the government hal* pulled the federations
togethw. Should the goV41,611 amt deCide to go along
with Paroian's suuestlifilifiltoleffectively turn the
teachers' federations into tr'ittlions, Snobelen
may live to regret what he *lucid for.
Willi Laurie, President,
Huron Women Teacher's Association